1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automotive safety restraint devices and more particularly, to an improved knee bolster which is deployed rearwardly in a vehicle during a crash to provide lower torso restraint.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automotive vehicles provided with safety restraint devices including inflatable air bags are currently being designed with a stationary panel, located on a downward and forwardly inclined portion of the instrument panel, which panel acts as a knee crush zone. The portion of the instrument panel enclosed in the knee crush zone is classified as a "knee bolster." During a crash, momentum causes the occupant to move forward and the legs of the occupant contact the knee bolster. This prevents or stops the occupant from submarining underneath the inflated air bag. The knee bolster then deforms or crushes under the load, absorbing energy and minimizing the forces acting on the occupant's legs.
Inflatable air bag devices that have heretofore been proposed are located in the passenger compartment of automotive vehicles and act as a cushion when deployed to safely restrain passengers in the event of a crash. Such devices comprise an inflatable air bag module stored behind the instrument panel of the vehicle. An inflatable air bag cushion deployed from an air bag module located behind the instrument panel is positioned to absorb the momentum and thereby protect a seated passenger.
The onset of a crash is detected by a sensor which activates an inflation device, which device is internally located in the air bag module and produces a flow of inflating gas into the inflatable air bag. This causes the air bag to be deployed as a protective cushion for the occupants within the vehicle passenger compartment.
As installed behind the vehicle instrument panel, the inflatable air bag is in folded condition. The folded air bag and the inflation device are contained within a reaction canister of the air bag module, which canister is provided with a generally rectangular cover. The cover also comprises the cover or door for an air bag deployment opening that is formed in a portion of the instrument panel.
The use of a crushable stationary panel on the instrument panel of an automotive vehicle to provide a knee crush zone or bolster is disadvantageous. This is because the reduction in the distance between the occupant's knees and the instrument panel detracts from and diminishes the amount of leg room and the feeling of roominess the occupant would prefer to retain.
Thus there has existed a need and a demand for a better solution to this problem. The present invention was devised to fill the technological gap that has existed in the art in this respect.